Resources allocation method and apparatus for multiple radio remote units sharing a cell

ABSTRACT

A resources allocation method for a user equipment is provided. The user equipment locates in a cell and multiple radio remote units share the cell. The method includes: measuring a test value of a reference signal of the user equipment in the cell under each radio remote unit; calculating a difference between the test value of the reference signal of the user equipment under the work radio remote unit and that of the reference signal under another radio remote unit in the cell; if the difference is not smaller than a preset value, the radio remote unit with the maximum test value is the only work radio remote unit, and if the difference is smaller than the preset value, the another radio remote unit is selected as another work radio remote unit. An apparatus of resources allocation for a user equipment is also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/CN2011/079843 filed on Sep. 19, 2011, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the communications field, and inparticular, to a resources allocation method and apparatus for multipleradio remote units sharing a cell.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a scenario where multiple RRUs (radio remote units) share a cell,although multiple RRUs under the same indoor baseband processing unitdistribute at different station addresses, they are logically in thesame cell. Therefore, cell parameters, such as the number of carriers,frequency point and channel configuration, of each RRU are the same. Inthis situation, for a downlink channel, each RRU transmits the samePDSCH/PDCCH (physical downlink shared channel/physical downlink controlchannel) signals; for an uplink channel, each RRU jointly receives orselectively receives PUCCH/PUSCH (physical uplink controlchannel/physical uplink shared channel) signals transmitted by a UE(user equipment).

In the process of implementing the preceding solution, the inventorfinds at least the following problem in the prior art: In the situationwhere multiple RRUs share a cell, a user equipment may occupy all RRUsin the cell to send and receive signals. In this case, multipledownlink/uplink channels transmit/receive the same signals, resulting inwaste of channel resources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a resources allocationmethod and apparatus for multiple radio remote units sharing a cell, tosolve the problem of a waste of channel resources in resourcesallocation for the multiple radio remote units sharing a cell.

To achieve the preceding objective, the following technical solutionsare adopted in the embodiments of the present invention:

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides aresources allocation method for multiple radio remote units sharing acell, including:

in the cell with multiple radio remote units, measuring a test value ofa reference signal of a user equipment in the cell under each radioremote unit; and selecting a radio remote unit with the maximum testvalue as a work radio remote unit of the user equipment.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides aresources allocation apparatus for multiple radio remote units sharing acell, including:

a reference signal measurement unit, configured to measure a test valueof a reference signal of a user equipment in a cell under each radioremote unit; and a selecting unit, configured to select a radio remoteunit with the maximum test value measured by the reference signalmeasurement unit as a work radio remote unit of the user equipment.

According to the resources allocation method and apparatus for multipleradio remote units sharing a cell provided in the embodiments of thepresent invention, in a condition that multiple radio remote units sharea cell, a corresponding work radio remote unit is selected for a userequipment according to a test value of a reference signal of the userequipment under each radio remote unit in the cell, thereby solving theproblem of a waste of channel resources in resources allocation for themultiple radio remote units sharing a cell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To describe technical solutions in the embodiments of the presentinvention or in the prior art more clearly, the accompanying drawingsrequired in descriptions about the embodiments or the prior art arebriefly described below. Apparently, the accompanying drawings describedbelow illustrate only some embodiments of the present invention, and aperson skilled in the art may derive other accompanying drawings fromthese accompanying drawings without any creative effort.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a resources allocation method for multipleradio remote units sharing a cell according to Embodiment 1 of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a resources allocation method for multipleradio remote units sharing a cell according to Embodiment 2 of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a bitmap of resources allocation for multiple radio remoteunits sharing a cell according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a bitmap of resources allocation for multiple radio remoteunits sharing a cell according to the prior art;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a resources allocation apparatus formultiple radio remote units sharing a cell according to Embodiment 3 ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of another resources allocation apparatus formultiple radio remote units sharing a cell according to Embodiment 3 ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention areclearly and completely described below with reference to theaccompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.Apparently, the described embodiments are merely a part of theembodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments ofthe present invention. All other embodiments obtained by a personskilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present inventionwithout creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of thepresent invention.

Embodiment 1

This embodiment of the present invention provides a resources allocationmethod for multiple radio remote units sharing a cell. As shown in FIG.1, steps of the method include:

S101. In a cell with multiple radio remote units, measure a test valueof a reference signal of a user equipment under each radio remote unitin the cell.

S102. Select a radio remote unit with the maximum test value as a workradio remote unit of the user equipment.

It should be noted here that the test value of the reference signal instep S102 may be any one of the following: reference signal receivingpower (RSRP); or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of asounding reference signal (SRS); or signal to interference plus noiseratio (SINR) of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

In addition, in the following embodiments, a base station measures atest value of a reference signal of a user equipment under each radioremote unit in a cell. It should be noted that the base station here maybe a base station in any one of the following scenarios: scenarios wheremultiple radio remote units share a cell whose standard is GSM (globalsystem for mobile communications), UMTS (universal mobiletelecommunications system), WIMAX (worldwide interoperability formicrowave access), or another radio standard.

In the cell with multiple radio remote units, the base station selects acorresponding work radio remote unit for the user equipment. Therefore,channel resources allocation is performed only on the corresponding workradio remote unit for the user equipment.

The resources allocation method for multiple radio remote units sharinga cell provided in the embodiment of the present invention is capable ofselecting, in a condition that multiple radio remote units share a cell,a corresponding work radio remote unit for a user equipment according toa test value of a reference signal of the user equipment under eachradio remote unit in the cell, thereby reducing a waste of channelresources in resources allocation for the multiple radio remote unitssharing a cell.

Embodiment 2

This embodiment of the present invention provides a resources allocationmethod for multiple radio remote units sharing a cell. As shown in FIG.2, steps of the method include:

S201. In a cell with multiple radio remote units, a base stationmeasures a test value of a reference signal of a user equipment undereach radio remote unit in the cell.

S202. The base station selects a radio remote unit with the maximum testvalue as a work radio remote unit of the user equipment.

S203. Calculate a difference between a test value of the referencesignal of the user equipment under its work radio remote unit and thatof the reference signal of the user equipment under another radio remoteunit in the cell. If the difference is smaller than a preset value,select the another radio remote unit as a work radio remote unit at thesame time.

It may be understood that, generally, when the user equipment is acenter user of its work radio remote unit, the difference between thetest value of the reference signal of the user equipment under its workradio remote unit and that of the reference signal of the user equipmentunder another radio remote unit may be comparatively large. In thissituation, through the method in step 203, the base station may onlyselect a unique work radio remote unit for the user equipment, and theuser equipment may be referred to as an RRU center user. When the userequipment is an edge user of its work radio remote unit, the differencebetween the test value of the reference signal of the user equipmentunder its work radio remote unit and that of the reference signal of theuser equipment under another radio remote unit may be comparativelysmall, and if the difference is smaller than the preset value, the basestation may select multiple work radio remote units for the userequipment at the same time, and the user equipment may be referred to asan RRU edge user. In this manner, communication quality is ensured.

In addition, the test value of the reference signal in steps S202 andS203 may be any one of the following: reference signal receiving power(RSRP); or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of a soundingreference signal (SRS); or signal to interference plus noise ratio(SINR) of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS). Here, when thedifference between the test value of the reference signal of the userequipment under the work radio remote unit and that of the referencesignal of the user equipment under the another radio remote unit iscalculated in step S203, the same type of test value is adopted.

S204. After selecting the work radio remote unit, the base stationmeasures a work time of the radio remote unit, so that when the worktime reaches a preset time value, the base station reselects a workradio remote unit for the user equipment.

For example, three radio remote units RRU0, RRU1, and RRU2 exist in cellA, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. Assume that each box in the figurerepresents an RB (resource block), (it may be understood that each boxin the figure may also represent several RBs) the value 1 in the figurerepresents channel resources allocated to user equipment 1, the value 2represents channel resources allocated to user equipment 2, and thevalue 0 represents unallocated channel resources. FIG. 3 is a bitmap ofresources allocation for multiple radio remote units sharing a cellaccording to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a bitmapof resources allocation for multiple radio remote units sharing a cellaccording to the prior art. In a real scenario, a physical uplinkchannel and a physical downlink channel exist. In a cell according tothe prior art, for the physical downlink channel, each RRU transmits thesame PDSCH/PDCCH signals; for the physical uplink channel, each RRUjointly receives or selectively receives the same PUCCH/PUSCH signalstransmitted by a user equipment.

Assume that the base station detects that a test value of a referencesignal of user equipment 1 under RRU0 is the maximum. RRU0 is selectedas a work RRU of user equipment 1; if the base station detects thatdifferences between test values of the reference signals of userequipment 1 under the other two RRUs (RRU1, RRU2) and the test value ofthe reference signal under RRU0 are larger than a preset comparisonvalue, the base station selects only RRU0 as the work RRU of userequipment 1. In this situation, assume that user equipment 1 occupiesonly channel resources of three RBs shown in FIG. 3. In the prior artshown in FIG. 4, however, user equipment 1 may occupy all RRUs (RRU0,RRU1, and RRU2) in the cell to send and receive signals. In this case,user equipment 1 occupies channel resources of nine RBs in the threeRRUs. Therefore, the solution in this embodiment of the presentinvention saves channel resources.

In addition, assume that the base station selects the radio remote unitRRU1 with the maximum test value of the reference signal as a work RRUof user equipment 2. The base station measures test values of referencesignals of user equipment 2 under the other two RRUs and finds that adifference between the test value of the reference signal under RRU2 andthe test value of the reference signal under RRU1 is smaller than thepreset comparison value. In that way, RRU2 is also set as a work RRU ofuser equipment 2. In this case, the base station selects RRU1 and RRU2as work RRUs of user equipment 2, occupying channel resources of onlyfour RBs as shown in the figure. In the prior art shown in FIG. 4,however, user equipment 1 may occupy all RRUs (RRU0, RRU1, and RRU2) inthe cell to send and receive signals. In this case, user equipment 1occupies channel resources of six RBs in all in the three RRUs.Therefore, the solution in this embodiment of the present inventionsaves channel resources. It may be understood that the number of RBs inthis embodiment may be assumed data, while in the real scenario, thenumber of occupied RBs needs to be determined according to an actualsituation, which is not limited in the present invention.

The test value of the reference signal described in this embodiment maybe any one of the following: reference signal receiving power (RSRP); orsignal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of a sounding referencesignal (SRS); or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of ademodulation reference signal (DMRS).

According to the resources allocation method for multiple radio remoteunits sharing a cell provided in this embodiment of the presentinvention, in a condition that multiple radio remote units share a cell,the base station selects a corresponding work radio remote unit for auser equipment according to a test value of a reference signal of theuser equipment under each radio remote unit in the cell, therebyreducing a waste of channel resources in resources allocation for themultiple radio remote units sharing a cell.

In addition, because the user equipment is a mobile device, adding theprocess of time measuring on the work radio remote unit is morebeneficial to changing the work radio remote unit in time when the userequipment moves to a different location, thereby improving communicationquality.

Embodiment 3

This embodiment of the present invention provides a resources allocationapparatus for multiple radio remote units sharing a cell. As shown inFIG. 5, the apparatus includes a reference signal measurement unit 51and a selecting unit 52.

The reference signal measurement unit 51 is configured to measure a testvalue of a reference signal of a user equipment under each radio remoteunit in the cell.

The selecting unit 52 is configured to select a radio remote unit withthe maximum test value measured by the reference signal measurement unitas a work radio remote unit of the user equipment.

The resources allocation apparatus for multiple radio remote unitssharing a cell provided in the embodiment of the present invention iscapable of selecting, in a condition that multiple radio remote unitsshare a cell, a corresponding work radio remote unit for a userequipment according to a test value of a reference signal of the userequipment under each radio remote unit in the cell, thereby reducing awaste of channel resources in resources allocation for the multipleradio remote units sharing a cell.

Further, the selecting unit 52 is further configured to calculate adifference between a test value of the reference signal of the userequipment under its work radio remote unit and that of the referencesignal of the user equipment under another radio remote unit in thecell. If the difference is smaller than a preset value, select theanother radio remote unit as a work radio remote unit at the same time.In this case, adopting multiple radio remote units to serve the userequipment at the same time is also beneficial to improving quality ofservice.

It should be noted that the test value of the reference signal describedin this embodiment may be any one of the following: reference signalreceiving power (RSRP); or signal to interference plus noise ratio(SINR) of a sounding reference signal (SRS); or signal to interferenceplus noise ratio (SINR) of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

Furthermore, the apparatus in FIG. 6 further includes a radio remoteunit work time measuring unit 53.

The radio remote unit work time measuring unit 53 is configured to,after the work radio remote unit is selected, measure a work time of theradio remote unit, so that when the work time reaches a preset timevalue, a work radio remote unit is reselected for the user equipment.

Here, because the user equipment is a mobile device, adding the radioremote unit work time measuring unit 53 is more beneficial to changingthe work radio remote unit in time when the user equipment moves to adifferent location, thereby improving communication quality.

The solution provided in this embodiment of the present invention mayalso be applicable to scenarios where multiple radio remote units sharea cell whose standard is GSM (global system for mobile communications),UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system), WIMAX (worldwideinteroperability for microwave access), or another radio standard. Theapparatus provided in this embodiment of the present invention may be abase station in each of the preceding scenarios and may also be a unitset independently.

The resources allocation apparatus for multiple radio remote unitssharing a cell provided in this embodiment of the present invention iscapable of selecting, in a condition that multiple radio remote unitsshare a cell, a corresponding work radio remote unit for a userequipment according to a test value of a reference signal of the userequipment under each radio remote unit in the cell, thereby reducing awaste of channel resources in resources allocation for the multipleradio remote units sharing a cell.

In addition, because the user equipment is a mobile device, the radioremote unit work time measuring unit is beneficial to changing the workradio remote unit in time when the user equipment moves to a differentlocation, thereby improving communication quality.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or a partof the steps of the methods according to the embodiments of the presentinvention may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware.The program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Whenthe program runs, the steps in the method embodiments are performed. Thestorage medium may be any medium that is capable of storing programcodes, such as a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The foregoing describes only specific implementation manners of thepresent invention, but the protection scope of the present invention isnot limited thereto. Any modification or substitution readilyconceivable by a person skilled in the art within the scope of thetechnology disclosed in the present invention shall fall within theprotection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protectionscope of the present invention is subject to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of resources allocation for a userequipment, wherein the user equipment locates a cell, and multiple radioremote units share the cell, comprising: measuring, by a base station, atest value of a reference signal of the user equipment in the cell undereach of the multiple radio remote units; and selecting, by the basestation, a work radio remote unit for the user equipment according tothe test value of the reference signal of the user equipment indifferent situations, comprising: selecting, by the base station, one ofthe multiple radio remote units with a maximum test value as the workradio remote unit of the user equipment; calculating, by the basestation, a difference between the test value of the reference signal ofthe user equipment under the work radio remote unit and another testvalue of the reference signal of the user equipment under another radioremote unit in the cell; and selecting, by the base station, the anotherradio remote unit as another work radio remote unit if the difference issmaller than a preset value; wherein if the difference is not smallerthan the preset value, the radio remote unit with the maximum test valueis selected as the only work radio remote unit of the user equipment. 2.The method according to claim 1, wherein after the work radio remoteunit is selected, the method further comprises: measuring, by the basestation, a work time of the work radio remote unit; and reselecting, bythe base station, a new work radio remote unit for the user equipmentwhen the work time of the work radio remote unit reaches a preset timevalue.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the test value of thereference signal comprises: a reference signal receiving power; or, asignal to interference plus noise ratio of a sounding reference signal;or, a signal to interference plus noise ratio of a demodulationreference signal.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein after thework radio remote unit is selected, the method further comprises:measuring, by the base station, a work time of the work radio remoteunit; and reselecting, by the base station, a new work radio remote unitfor the user equipment, when the work time of the work radio remote unitreaches a preset time value.
 5. A apparatus of resources allocation fora user equipment, wherein the user equipment locates a cell and multipleradio remote units share the cell, comprising: a reference signalmeasurement unit, configured to measure a test value of a referencesignal of the user equipment in the cell under each of the multipleradio remote units; and a selecting unit, configured to select a workradio remote unit for the user equipment according to the test value ofthe reference signal of the user equipment in different situations;wherein the selecting unit is further configured to: select one of themultiple radio remote units with a maximum test value measured by thereference signal measurement unit as a work radio remote unit of theuser equipment; calculate a difference between the test value of thereference signal of the user equipment under the work radio remote unitand another test value of the reference signal of the user equipmentunder another radio remote unit in the cell; and select the anotherradio remote unit as another work radio remote unit if the difference issmaller than a preset value; wherein if the difference is not smallerthan the preset value, the radio remote unit with the maximum test valueis the only work radio remote unit of the user equipment.
 6. Theapparatus according to claims 5, further comprising: a radio remote unitwork time measuring unit, configured to, after the work radio remoteunit is selected, measure a work time of the work radio remote unit sothat when the work time of the work radio remote unit reaches a presettime value, a new work radio remote unit is reselected for the userequipment.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the test valueof the reference signal comprises: a reference signal receiving power;or, a signal to interference plus noise ratio of a sounding referencesignal; or, a signal to interference plus noise ratio of a demodulationreference signal.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, furthercomprising: a radio remote unit work time measuring unit, configured to,after the work radio remote unit is selected, measure a work time of thework radio remote unit so that when the work time of the work radioremote unit reaches a preset time value, a new work radio remote unit isreselected for the user equipment.
 9. The apparatus according to claim5, wherein the apparatus is a base station.